Tell Me About These Bridge Humbuckers

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Charvel1975
Charvel1975
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Dimarzio Breed

Dimarzio Steve's Special

Dimarzio Gravity Storm

Dimarzio Dark Matter 2

Dimarzio Norton

Dimarzio Tone Zone

Dimarzio Air Zone

Dimarzio AT-1

Suhr Aldrich

Suhr Thornbucker 1 & 2

Suhr SSV, SSH, DSV & DSH

Seymour Duncan 59/Custom Hybrid
 
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I got Breeds in my Ibanes VBT700. It's a mahogany body, and I like them a lot. They are a hotter PAF of sorts.
 
I can comment on the Tone Zone and Aldrich.

Tone Zone is kinda like a JB where the focus has been shifted from high mids to low mids and upper bass. It has those typical DiMarzio cocked wah mids. A lof of them, actually. It's not super dark, but it's certainly fatter than brighter. IMO/IME, it's often described as super bassy, but I find it's more lower-middy stuffy rather than deep.

The Aldrich is kinda like a JB that's been smoothed out and fattened up a tad, but not quite as much as the Tone Zone. I'd say it's kinda like a middle ground between the JB and the Tone Zone, except it's not nearly as nasal as the Tone Zone. The bottom-end is deeper than the JB too, but I wouldn't call it "tighter", like many people describe it as.

As far as compression, I think the JB, Tone Zone, and Aldrich are along the lines of each other. Many people describe the Aldrich as "hot PAF-y", but I completely disagree. It's more like tweaked/beefed up JB to me.
 
@Charvel1975 what are you after?

aldrich is boring as all hell, massive avoid imo

Thornbucker + and Thornbucker 2 for bridge are actually awesome but you have to like the alnico 2 or alnico 3 low wind feel. i personally really like both.

Not a fan of DiMarzio's in general even though i have them in my charvel....largely only because the double cream looks so good lol
 
Charvel1975 said:
Dimarzio Breed
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Breed neck is beautiful. I had one in a 70's Ibanez Artist which had a Maple neck, Mahogany body with carved maple top. It sounded very clear in that guitar. First time I head the Breed pickups was in an Ibanez with a basswood body. I hated those pickups in basswood. Steve at DiMarzio told me that the Breed bridge model is based on the Double Whammy DP 150 which is mid focused.
Charvel1975 said:
Dimarzio Norton
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Instant VH and 80's metal tones. KILLER for those type sounds. Also, it sounds reeeeeally great in parallel.
Charvel1975 said:
Dimarzio Tone Zone
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BLECCH! Godawful. I've hated that pickup in every guitar I played that had one. I once bought a used guitar that had a Tone Zone in it. I played with the height adjustment for a week because that's supposedly the secret to make them sound amazing. Sounded like shit no matter what I did.
Charvel1975 said:
Dimarzio Air Zone
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AMAZING. I had one in a Peavey Wolfgang and it slayed in that guitar. DiMarzio calls it a fat PAF tone, but the lows are clear and pretty tight. Beautiful mids that cut and a very nice clear top end. I play old school metal and hard rock and the AZ is a weapon. Sounds sweet when played clean, too.
Charvel1975 said:
Suhr Aldrich
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I put one in my '87 Kramer and it's never coming out of that guitar. To me, the Aldrich is a perfect pickup. It can do anything and do it very well. It's the one guitar I own that I'll never sell. It has the Suhr Aldrich (bridge model) and 2 DiMarzio HS-3's. Perfect for me. I play old school metal and hard rock and the Aldrich has always made me smile.
 
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Just added the Dimarzio Dark Matter 2 to the list
 
I have an Aldrich and love it but not as organic as the other pickups I have (2nd Degree Black Belt and Tonenerd Whiskey). Both of those pickups are currently not installed in a guitar but need to soon. I night put the Whiskey in my 1979 "The Paul" guitar.
 
BeZo said:
I got Breeds in my Ibanes VBT700. It's a mahogany body, and I like them a lot. They are a hotter PAF of sorts.
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@BeZo

Can you look at your breed neck pickups poles and tell me if they are close to flat or raised up a bunch?

I recently bought a new breed for my ibanez neck spot...it came with poles very high ( had me thinking they forgot to tighten them at factory?????) I lowered them, but curious if they are suppose to be high or low from factory.

Thanks
 
Nashville Riff Co said:
@Charvel1975 what are you after?

aldrich is boring as all hell, massive avoid imo

Thornbucker + and Thornbucker 2 for bridge are actually awesome but you have to like the alnico 2 or alnico 3 low wind feel. i personally really like both.

Not a fan of DiMarzio's in general even though i have them in my charvel....largely only because the double cream looks so good lol
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@Nashville Riff Co I'm looking for a bridge humbucker that can cover a wide range from good cleans and Classic Rock/Heavy metal to current tones, be defined and clear with good midrange yet having plenty of low end, sound good with volume pot roll off and have good split & series/parallel tones.
 
67mike said:
@BeZo

Can you look at your breed neck pickups poles and tell me if they are close to flat or raised up a bunch?

I recently bought a new breed for my ibanez neck spot...it came with poles very high ( had me thinking they forgot to tighten them at factory?????) I lowered them, but curious if they are suppose to be high or low from factory.

Thanks
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They are close to flat.
20190831_200459.jpg
 
Charvel1975 said:
@Nashville Riff Co I'm looking for a bridge humbucker that can cover a wide range from good cleans and Classic Rock/Heavy metal to current tones, be defined and clear with good midrange yet having plenty of low end, sound good with volume pot roll off and have good split & series/parallel tones.
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Suhr DSH has good gain, it sounds dynamic with the volume pot and it has more low end compared with the SSH
 
Just recently started experimenting with the Duncan 59/Custom hybrid and I really dig it. A bit more than a PAF variety, but still has a lot of the PAF articulation / string separation vibe. The slight mismatch in the coils makes it feel more ‘lively’ with more reaction to dynamics, pick-attack, etc than a traditional Duncan Custom wind. I’ve got one in a super dense, super heavy MK Hard Ash Franky build, and I think it’s there for good! I didn’t ‘dislike’ it in a lightweight alder Warmoth build, but it really shines in the heavier, chunkier guitar.
 
Charvel1975 said:
@Nashville Riff Co I'm looking for a bridge humbucker that can cover a wide range from good cleans and Classic Rock/Heavy metal to current tones, be defined and clear with good midrange yet having plenty of low end, sound good with volume pot roll off and have good split & series/parallel tones.
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my vote is something alnico 2 or alnico 3 with lower output (like 7k-8k). I personally like how those magnets can capture the picking hand articulation.

i dont think they'll sound great for modern metal though. they don't sound bad but i have guitars specifically with EMG81's for metal tones but thats just what my ears like.

you may want to check out some of the Bare Knuckle Offerings (won't be alnico 2/3) but the Rebel Yell, Miracle Man and Holy Diver might hit the spot for the tonal variety you're looking for
 
I had a Duncan '59 in an LP copy I bought. I was expecting it to be pretty good since guys are always talking it up, potentially alleviating my desire for '57 classics. That was the most bland and lifeless sounding pickup I"ve tried. So bland and lifeless I was looking for the Fishman logo on it.

I haven't had success with Duncans. I wonder if the metal cover being much harder than a Gibson cover has anything to do with it? Probably not but the Gibson covers are real soft stuff by comparison.
 
Charvel1975 said:
@Nashville Riff Co I'm looking for a bridge humbucker that can cover a wide range from good cleans and Classic Rock/Heavy metal to current tones, be defined and clear with good midrange yet having plenty of low end, sound good with volume pot roll off and have good split & series/parallel tones.
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I have a Tone Zone in my old LTD V-250 and it smokes in that for hard rock and metal, but its cleans are straight up bad except for when it's coil tapped in the middle position with the Humbucker From Hell in the neck.

After I had it put in that guitar I played another one in a warmer guitar with a tune-o-matic rather than a Floyd and it was just mud.

I think the biggest issue even in a well matched guitar is fitting its profile into a full band/live sound because of the low-mid spike that they have. I wouldn't recommend it unless you really like what it serves up, they do sound big and hot in the right guitar, but I just got lucky really.
 
JohnnyGtar said:
Breed neck is beautiful. I had one in a 70's Ibanez Artist which had a Maple neck, Mahogany body with carved maple top. It sounded very clear in that guitar. First time I head the Breed pickups was in an Ibanez with a basswood body. I hated those pickups in basswood. Steve at DiMarzio told me that the Breed bridge model is based on the Double Whammy DP 150 which is mid focused.

Instant VH and 80's metal tones. KILLER for those type sounds. Also, it sounds reeeeeally great in parallel.

BLECCH! Godawful. I've hated that pickup in every guitar I played that had one. I once bought a used guitar that had a Tone Zone in it. I played with the height adjustment for a week because that's supposedly the secret to make them sound amazing. Sounded like shit no matter what I did.

AMAZING. I had one in a Peavey Wolfgang and it slayed in that guitar. DiMarzio calls it a fat PAF tone, but the lows are clear and pretty tight. Beautiful mids that cut and a very nice clear top end. I play old school metal and hard rock and the AZ is a weapon. Sounds sweet when played clean, too.

I put one in my '87 Kramer and it's never coming out of that guitar. To me, the Aldrich is a perfect pickup. It can do anything and do it very well. It's the one guitar I own that I'll never sell. It has the Suhr Aldrich (bridge model) and 2 DiMarzio HS-3's. Perfect for me. I play old school metal and hard rock and the Aldrich has always made me smile.
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Do you still have that Ibanez artist? Killer guitars…
 
Charvel1975 said:
Dimarzio Breed

Dimarzio Steve's Special

Dimarzio Gravity Storm

Dimarzio Dark Matter 2

Dimarzio Norton

Dimarzio Tone Zone

Dimarzio Air Zone

Dimarzio AT-1

Suhr Aldrich

Suhr Thornbucker 1 & 2

Suhr SSV, SSH, DSV & DSH

Seymour Duncan 59/Custom Hybrid
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i will say: all of those are good pups, but the most slept on dimarzio is the fred. i absolutely love it for rock or extreme metal...
 
I have the Steve's Special on a Jam, and really dig it. Is not scooped but have a more neutral mids, which is unusual for an humbucker. I have a TZ and the Norton too, but liked them less.
 
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